


Aesthetics of Two Souls

by bialiens



Series: Kenma's Witching World [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Hurt Hinata Shouyou, Kenma isn't athletic, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, hinata is a dancer, hinata lies, kenma isn't antisocial
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-14
Updated: 2016-06-14
Packaged: 2018-07-14 22:53:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7194188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bialiens/pseuds/bialiens
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when a young witch meets his soulmate and is afraid of the outcome? What happens when the soulmate believes in ulterior motives?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aesthetics of Two Souls

_i._

_how it started_

Dancing was a passion, a hobby, an obsession for Hinata Shouyou. The boy turned to his dancing when everything became too much, like when his father came home drunk and broke things and cried.

Hinata was an elegant boy, beauty and grace meshed with his formal upbringing and created the essence of art. Hinata started dancing at a young age, young enough not to have a choice. His ballet training made him strong and remembering how bad he had been at the beginning kept him soft spoken.

Hinata came from a long line of witches but all he wanted to do was dance and ignore the supernatural elements in his family. However, the supernatural had other ideas for Hinata and his dancing. The supernatural world touched Hinata's soul mark and stirred desire in his chest.

Along with dancing Hinata was a gifted writer but there weren't enough words to describe exactly how Hinata felt about his tattoo and he doubted words would ever capture his feelings ("words are a gift Shouyou!"). The tattoo was engraved across his left forearm quite beautifully, however, something about it made him feel uneasy. Maybe it was the way the coloring perfectly complimented his skin and whatever he wore that made Hinata feel cold when people brought up soulmates and their tattoos. Maybe it was the way it looked when Hinata danced, blurred colors that complimented his movement.

It shouldn't be this way Hinata knew.

Hinata knew tattoos brought soulmates together and were a symbol of happiness but Hinata didn't feel that way. Hinata's mother had talked to him countless times about how his tattoo wasn't a curse and how it was wonderful to look at, she was a gentle woman who's soulmate ended up being a godawful person. 

Hinata's tattoo was a lone cherry blossom branch, it stretched upwards across his forearm and it was bright and bold not in the least wispy or faint. The branch was detailed in vibrant browns and softer, darker shades of red. The flowers were done in pinks and reds, pale purples, and hints of white.

The flowers were in bloom across his arm and covered him in the magic of spring.

And, for some reason Hinata found it eerie. He didn't like the way it matched him. Maybe because he believed the tattoo was too feminine but it wasn't. Hinata had a feminine side and his tattoo had angelic properties or so Hinata's mother said.

Hinata's little sister, Natsu, thought the tattoo was much better than hers. Her tattoo was a string of birds flying across her lower back.

Natsu's tattoo was perfect in it's own way.

Hinata felt that his tattoo didn't look better than anyone else's, especially not Natsu's.

The tattoo has haunted Hinata for sixteen years and Hinata knew it shouldn't have, the alluring flowers gave him intense fear and kept him awake at night. Maybe it was the accuracy that seemed so out of place and ghost like or maybe it was the way everyone ignored how much those flowers affected him.

Hinata felt stupid because of the way his tattoo kept him on guard (he wasn't stupid, he wasn't crazy).

His mother was a witch and she had tried to ease him and his irrational caution with potions and spells but they did nothing. And even Natsu had wanted to help him out by creating a dream catcher.

When Hinata was fourteen he saw a boy get bullied for being blank, it had been terrifying to Hinata, so terrifying he skipped school the next day. In the day he skipped he realized how lucky he was and he began to believe that he was okay because he had a tattoo (blank people were cursed it felt). After all, he'd been told too many horror stories about people who were without a tattoo to take his for granted.

He had been scared into accepting himself.

Nevertheless, tattoo or not, Hinata was a pretty boy. His most prominent feature were his eyes. They were stunning and pierced people's souls, they were a hazel color that looked like butterscotch. And his hair was wild and couldn't be tamed, people had told him that his personality made him even prettier and the tattoo only added the his beauty (never mind that Hinata had been called a slut because of the way he dressed).

Hinata was a witch at sixteen which made him a prodigy, not because most people didn't discover their supernatural gift until they were eighteen, but because he shouldn't be a witch at all. Hinata should've been a oracle like his father. 

But, Hinata Shouyou wasn't an oracle and his father hardly came home to visit his family.

Hinata the witch would attended Karasuno School for Prodigies in the fall. The problem with Karasuno wasn't that it was expensive. Hinata was rich, his family was wealthy because of his mother.

His father traveled often for work and while he made money for his family, he missed every important thing, dance recitals and choir performances alike.

The problem was that Hinata couldn't stay with his family anymore.

Karasuno was a nice and busy school. It was secluded in the mountains and it was an all boys school. The school often got new students, though it wasn't the only school for prodigies and it was a little surprising. As most students do, Hinata vividly remembers the day he moved in at Karasuno, he'd been so nervous. He really remembers it because he had to leave everyone behind all because he gained his supernatural powers too soon. 

On his first day he had gotten lost.

("Typical Shou!" His mother would've said had she been there.)

He couldn't find the first year dorms and had been trying for hours. A boy had found him, the kid was nice and had lots of freckles. He was taller than Hinata and had doe-like eyes and brown hair. He introduced himself as Yamaguchi Tadashi.

Fortunately for Hinata, he was also a first year.

Yamaguchi and Hinata ended up being roommates which made Hinata relax a little.

The trouble began when the two boys were studying. Hinata saw a pair of students, one was a second year and the other was a third year. They were walking to the library. One of the two boys stood out in particular. He was a small boy with dyed blond hair and very obvious roots that showed the boy wasn't a natural blond.

But, all Hinata noticed was the boy's tattoo, it was _his_ tattoo in the same place and everything! Hinata jumped up and with Yamaguchi protesting he ran to the boy. 

"YOU!" He yelled in excitement and maybe yelling wasn't tactful but he was agitated.

The boy hardly looked up from his gaming system. "Me?"

The boy's friend had stopped talking and started watching Hinata with curiosity.

"Y-your tattoo." Hinata mumbled suddenly shy.

The boy's friend looked at Hinata now, regarding him with curiosity and something akin to amusement.

"What about it?" The boy then said, smiling ever so slightly. 

"It really is pretty." Hinata stated weakly, hiding his own tattoo behind his back.

For some reason he couldn't bring himself to admit they were soulmates now that they were face to face.

The boy was shockingly pretty, with soft eyes, a flushed face, and pink lips that looked softer than his hair.

And, suddenly the boy seemed too good for a kid who wasn't even supposed to be a witch or even at Karasuno.

"Can I help you?" The boys friend, a tall guy with unruly black hair, finally asked.

"Sorry, I just liked his tattoo." Hinata whispered, ashamed.

"Kuroo, no need to harass underclassmen." The boy scolded. He then turned to Hinata, "thank you." The bottle blond whispered.

Hinata's face lit up, he was pleased by the thanks.

This boy was really cute and they were soulmates.

"I'm Hinata Shouyou by the way." Hinata whispered back.

"Kozume Kenma."

Hinata trudged slowly back to Yamaguchi after that. He felt weird, like he'd been shocked by an eel. The newness of knowing something so important astonished Hinata. He finally knew who his soulmate was... He actually could now attach a face and a name to the tattoo that had haunted him for so long.

It felt different, it felt good. The distinctive thing about being at Karasuno seemed to be meeting his soulmate, obviously. It wasn't that Hinata had never considered that he would meet his soulmate at Karasuno but it had undoubtedly happened. This is real life for Hinata and it felt like a romantic movie trope. Yamaguchi kept telling Hinata this wasn't uncommon and he was right but... It still didn't feel real. 

_ii._

_how it was kept quiet_

It felt weird knowing every single soul on campus was a prodigy, Hinata was used to being the odd man out but here he was normal, unexceptional.

However, Hinata now knew who his soulmate was now and that set him apart in a new and terrifying way. He had run up and yelled then panicked, how utterly _lame_ was that? Hinata really wanted to see Kenma again but he also really wanted to crawl under a rock he was so embarrassed by their first encounter. He'd never imagined meeting his soulmate would be like that.

So, Hinata Shoyo the nervous wreck, called his mom.

The phone rang twice before she answered, "Hello?" Her silky voice asked.

"Mom, it's Shouyou." Hinata whispered as if anything louder would break the phone. 

"Hey baby, how are you?" His mother replied.

"I'm okay mama, I have some news though." Hinata could hear his mom suck in her breath.

"What is it? Did something happen?" She finally asked.

"I-I met my pair but he doesn't know we're a pair because I panicked and hid my tattoo. I mean, I saw his tattoo and ran over to him, I don't know why I thought it was a good idea. But, he's nothing like me and I panicked. He's really cute and likes video games but I feel like he's so out of my league and the universe is taunting me. Mama why does god hate me?" Hinata rambled. 

Mrs. Hinata was a lovely woman, she was kind, gentle, and had a soothing personality. She took care of her two kids without her husband and she had been a famous witch when she was younger but now she'd stepped aside in the witching world. She loved her son with all her heart and only gave him the best advice.

"Shou, I know you and you'll probably avoid him until he notices your tattoo but please don't do that this time. You'll only hurt yourself if you keep feeling less than him. You don't know what your pair is like, nobody does until they get to know them." She sounded remorseful for a second before pressing on. "Don't hide until he points out your tattoo. Be yourself because you're a perfect Hinata Shouyou."

Hinata mulled over her words for a second, "Do you think I'll actually fall in love with my pair?"

She laughed and Hinata relaxed. "Yes, of course I do."

Their conversation then moved to mundane things like how Natsu would be graduating elementary school soon, and how their dog had run off three times last week. Eventually Hinata hung up and went to bed.

Nearly a week later, Hinata saw Kenma at the school bookstore. He had been getting a book for his history class when he rounded the corner and was startled to see Kenma sitting on the floor reading. "Hi." He said too loudly, shifting. Kenma looked up, "Hi... Hinata was it?" Hinata nodded eagerly. "Whatcha reading?" Hinata asked softer this time. "Oh.. It's a mythology book for my English class." Hinata plopped down next to Kenma, "I really like mythology." He said.

Kenma looked a little nervous with Hinata so close but then relaxed some. "I do, too." Kenma replied. Hinata thanked every god he could think of that he was wearing a sweatshirt to cover his tattoo. Kenma kept reading, oblivious to Hinata's internal struggle of whether to speak or not.

After a few minutes he looked up and directly into Hinata's eyes, "Why are you nice to me? Why do you keep talking to me?"

Taken aback (mostly because the honest answer was crude) Hinata said, "You seem really cool and smart." Kenma spoke again, "I'm sorry, I guess I'm used to be people having other motives than just thinking I'm cool." Hinata nodded he knew how that felt. "Well, those are my motives but I know how you feel." Kenma accepted it with a smile. Hinata smiled back, he felt a little guilty even though his answer wasn't a lie. Hinata had simply avoided the entire truth.

Hinata and Kenma begin to meet up for study sessions, Kenma is patient with Hinata. Hinata tries, he really does, but some subjects aren't his forte. Hinata felt himself slip in resisting Kenma's gravitational tug on him. Some days the tension between them was almost tangible. Kenma taught Hinata about math, science, and videogames so it was all okay in Hinata's world. 

Kenma got random bruises. According to Kenma his soulmate got bruises a lot and they appeared on Kenma, Kenma then explained it was a soul bond stronger than the tattoos.

Kenma had stronger powers than Hinata and so it made sense they would have a strong soul bond. Hinata wished he'd known about it before he injured himself dancing.

After a particularly nasty landing while dancing, Hinata vowed to try and get fewer bruises for his soulmate. Kenma seemed worried about all the bruises, he expressed his fear of abuse to Hinata often who suddenly felt so guilty it hurt. 

Hinata got into a fight defending Kenma. He got punched and had a black eye which then showed up on Kenma due to their deep soul bond or something. Kenma confronted him, "All the bruises you get seem to appear on me. Like that black eye. Do you have anything you want to tell me?" He'd said scornfully. "That's weird and probably a coincidence and no I do not." Hinata replied, he was a bad liar. 

Hinata considered writing Kenma a letter telling him everything. He always wrote:

_Dear Kenma_

_We're a pair and I'm sorry ~~I suck at everything, especially telling you how much you mean to me. Kenma, I love you.~~_

_I want to take care of you. I want to get to know your every thought and to wake up next to you. You mean so much to me and that won't ever change. Kenma, you mean the world to me._

_I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I ~~'m a coward when it comes to how I feel.~~_

_The bruises are because I'm a ballerina ~~and somedays I can't dance right because I think about you.~~_

_I promise I can do better for you._

_Please accept me as your pair._

Hinata wrote tons of letters to Kenma, letters he never sent. Letters that would never be discovered by Yamaguchi or Sugawara. Hinata kept what mattered to him silent.

The following weekend after the 'black eyes and lies' incident, Kenma invited Hinata to an on campus party. It was at some third years dorm room. Hinata deliberately wore a large jacket to hid his forearms, while he was getting closer to Kenma he was still too scared to show Kenma his tattoo. The two had exchanged numbers after the bookstore and Hinata texted Kenma more than he texted his mom.

Hinata entered the dorm on that godless Friday night, the music was too loud and there was beer in everyone's hand. Searching for Kenma, Hinata flits about for a minute or two before he spots Kenma, "Hey." He calls out to Kenma. "Hi." Comes the predictable reply. The two hung out and danced for what felt like forever, then they went to get drinks.

Hinata shoved his jacket up to his elbows thoughtlessly and held out his left hand for Kenma to take. "Shou, your tattoo." Kenma murmured, a look of hurt flashing across his face. Hinata jumped, "What about it?" He asked loudly, face flushing.

"It's my tattoo. We're a pair, you knew this. Didn't you?" Kenma accused, dropping Hinata's hand.

"US? A PAIR? HOW COULD I KNOW?!" Hinata yelled, panic sweeping over him as he took a panicked step back.

Kenma narrowed his eyes, "Hinata Shouyou, stop this act."

"Kenma... I-" Then, without thinking Hinata Shouyou ran away like a coward.

_iii._

_how it came to be_

The music became deafening as Hinata ran, he pushed and shoved if only to get away from Kenma. Hinata had gotten close to Kenma, he'd worked for a good friendship! But Hinata certainly fucked that up by revealing his tattoo then lying. Hinata ran to the only person qualified on heartbreak: Sugawara Koushi.

 Sugawara had been in love with Sawamura even knowing they didn't have the same tattoos. Sawamura had met his own soulmate years after he met Sugawara, he went to Sugawara gushing about his soulmate, unaware he was breaking his friend's heart.

Hinata ran in the direction of the on-campus apartments in which Sugawara resides. _No time to knock, I've gotta get away from him_ Hinata thought bitterly before slamming into Sugawara himself. "Suga!" He cried, partly in pain mostly in delight. "Shou?" Came the amused reply. "I need to talk with you, please." Hinata whispered into the blackness surrounding him. Sugawara frowned slightly, "Okay let's get back to my place then." 

The two walked slowly back to Sugawara's, the silence made the walk seem longer. They two boys held hands for comfort, something had gone awry and Hinata needed the comfort of physical touch. The edge in Hinata's voice was obvious, Sugawara knew something important had happened but would wait to ask. When they got to Sugawara's, Hinata made a dash for his friends kitchen. Hinata grabbed the homemade muffins off the cooling wrack before plopping down in a chair.

There was comfort in Sugawara's kitchen. It was homely and made everyone feel at ease. Sugawara's kitchen had been repainted lilac then teal and now it was plum purple (Hinata called it that at least) which was funny considering it was an on-campus apartment. Sugawara looked expectantly at Hinata now. "Suga, Kenma saw my tattoo. And we're a pair and I was keeping it quiet and now Kenma knows I was keeping it from him! How can I be a good pair if we start out with such immense secrets? And Suga, he looked so alarmed and pained when he saw my tattoo." Hinata finished softly.

Sugawara watched Hinata intensely before speaking. "Shouyou, I'm a fortuneteller. I don't get to wonder about how things will end up. I knew what was happening when I started falling for Daichi." Sugawara sounded regretful. "I can't trust fate or whatever because I know what's going to happen. You don't get to know so talk to him. I know you'll be okay if you try to solve your problem. You can't ever be a good pair if you don't try to solve any of the problems that occur." Sugawara sounded quite sure of himself. 

"Suga, when I trust myself to fix things something always goes wrong! I can't do anything." Hinata whispered.

"I won't talk to your pair for you." Sugawara replied.

"How do I apologize and start trying?" Hinata asked, eyes wide. 

"Start out with a basic 'I'm sorry I kept this huge thing from you and I really care about you,' but make it more personal." Sugawara offered.

Hinata laughed, that seemed too ridiculous and too simple for this problem.

Hinata returned to his plain dorm about two in the morning.  He slipped in before sneaking to his bed. Yamaguchi awoke almost instantly. "Shou, what the hell are you doing?" His voice asked still husky from sleep. "I was with Sugawara... Kenma found out about us.. Being a pair." Hinata's voice cracked, he was so close to losing it. Yamaguchi sighed softly, "I know, he came by and seemed worried."

Hinata lost it at the mention of his soulmate, he was sobbing, he wheezed for air and couldn't seem to get any. Yamaguchi hopped down from the top bunk and wrapped Hinata up in his blankets. They made a pallet out of their bedding and Yamaguchi put on an old mixtape from an ex-boyfriend of his. The mix was made of haunting songs about heartbreak. And, the two were eventually lulled into restless sleep.

The next day Hinata skipped all his classes, he lied and said he was sick. He skipped again the next day, he was so heartbroken and tired. Yamaguchi didn't try to stop him from skipping. Kenma showed up the first two days, he knocked several times and texted Hinata more than he knocked. It was all Hinata could do to _not_ answer. He caved around noon on the third day, Kenma had brought lunch with him and Hinata just lost his will to resist. "Shouyou, I want to know why you lied." Kenma asked quietly after they'd eaten.

"I don't have a good reason, I'm sorry. I hardly knew you, I was scared. I never meant to have it go this far." Kenma looked hurt. "I don't know why I kept lying, and the party... I'm really sorry about that. The running was cowardly." Hinata finished. "Even the black eyes and bruises were lies?" Kenma asked, softer and sadder than before. "Yes. But it wasn't abuse, I'm a ballerina." Hinata said, smiling slightly.

"Promise you won't lie to me again, please." Kenma whispered softly.

"Please forgive me." He replied softly.

"I forgive you." 

Those three words lifted Hinata's spirits. "Do you wanna give being a pair a chance?" Hinata asked, he looked brighter than ever, he was like the sun and Kenma was the moon. "Okay. I guess." Kenma replied smiling.

If you went to Karasuno you'd see them walking to classes together and studying together. They were happy together and when life happened they always tried to make it better. They were two kids paired together who really liked each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked this, I've been mulling over writing a new soulmate au for quite sometime! 
> 
> I have other works!!! Please read them, some of them are actually worth reading lmao
> 
> My tumblr is: http://bialiens.tumblr.com/


End file.
